Updated for 2026

Vermont PMHNP Continuing Education Requirements

Here's what a Psychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner (PMHNP) must complete to renew in Vermont.

These are the Vermont APRN license requirements for a board-certified PMHNP who prescribes controlled substances. Your RN license, ANCC certification and DEA registration renew separately; see every credential.

Topic minimums
2controlled substances (abuse and diversion, safe use and disposal, VPMS, risk assessment, opioid alternatives, tapering, state and federal law)

Next deadline: March 31, 2027The renewal cycle is biennial, and the license renews by March 31 of odd years.

Where this comes from
State source
Vermont board rule
Last verified
October 2026
Ruleset version
2026.2

Every figure on this page is read from this rule, and the page refreshes when the ruleset changes. How we verify

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Requirements

Vermont PMHNP requirements

Topic minimums

Controlled substances (abuse and diversion, safe use and disposal, VPMS, risk assessment, opioid alternatives, tapering, state and federal law)
2
You need 2 hours each cycle.

Cycle and record rules

Renewal
The renewal cycle is biennial, and the license renews by March 31 of odd years.
Renewal fee
The board renewal fee is $145 every 2 years.
Approved providers
Vermont's Board of Nursing sets no fixed hours for RN or APRN renewal. When an RN chooses the continuing education option, the 20 hours must be "qualifying continuing education", meaning education "approved and assigned a credit value by an organization approved by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation, or by another verifying authority approved by the Board, or directly by the Board" (Rule 1, definitions), completed "in the two years immediately preceding the application" (Rule 4-8(a)(2)). The two controlled-substances hours owed by APRNs with a DEA registration have no provider list ("OPR does not endorse specific controlled-substance courses or providers"), must cover the Act 173 topics, and count for the licensing period in which they are taken.
Board audit
The board may audit licensees to verify CE compliance.
Late renewal
A late renewal adds a late fee.

To keep your proof in order, see what to keep for a CE audit, which covers every state’s retention period and what the audit notice asks for.

Credential stack

Every credential a Vermont PMHNP renews

Each one renews on its own date, and a lapse at any of them stops prescribing. The ANCC certification and DEA registration are the same in every state.

  1. APRNAdvanced Practice Registered Nurse
    Vermont · Biennial

    2 hours of controlled substances (abuse and diversion, safe use and disposal, VPMS, risk assessment, opioid alternatives, tapering, state and federal law) every 2 years.

    Requirements above
  2. RNRegistered Nurse
    Vermont · Biennial

    No CE hours to renew.

    Requirements above
  3. CSRState Controlled Substance Registration
    Vermont

    Vermont does not issue a separate CSR.

  4. PMHNP-BCPsychiatric-Mental Health Nurse Practitioner, Board Certified
    ANCC · Every 5 years

    75 CE hours every 5 years, including 25 hours of pharmacology.

    PMHNP-BC renewal requirements
  5. DEADEA Registration
    DEA · Triennial

    No recurring CE hours, but a one-time training applies.

    DEA renewal requirements
Your hours

Check where you stand

Enter the hours you have completed this cycle to see what is left before March 31, 2027.

Your result appears here as you enter hours.

Also hold a Vermont Psychologist or LPC license? Each board runs its own CE cycle. See the Vermont Psychologist and Vermont LPC requirements.

Full board policy details
  • RN current practice competence, not continuing education: "RNs & LPNs shall: (1) Have practiced for a minimum of 50 days (400 hours) in the two years preceding application or 120 days (960 hours) in the five years preceding application; or (2) Have completed 20 hours of qualifying continuing education in the two years immediately preceding the application; or (3) Hold a current nationally recognized certification" (Rule 4-8(a); the same three options define "Current Practice Competence" in Rule 1). Because CE is one of three alternatives, and the practice-hours option is an attestation the engine does not count, the RN row carries no total. A PMHNP-BC holder meets option (3) with the certification alone. A nurse relying on option (2) logs 20 hours of qualifying CE in the two years before the renewal application.
  • APRN renewal: Rule 4-8(d) requires an APRN to "(1) Have satisfied RN renewal requirements; (2) Have practiced in an APRN role for a minimum of 50 days (400 hours) in the two years preceding application or 120 days (960 hours) in the five years preceding application; (3) Present current certification by a national APRN certifying organization; and (4) If required, have a current collaborating provider agreement", and Rule 9-7(a) repeats the practice and certification requirement for renewal. Act 119 of 2026 (H.588), Sec. 14, effective on passage (signed June 8, 2026), struck the practice-requirement item from the statute, which now reads "An APRN license renewal application shall include: (1) documentation of a current certification by a national APRN specialty certifying organization; and (2) a current collaborative provider agreement if required for transition to practice" (26 V.S.A. § 1614). The Board's May 2023 rules still list the 400/960 APRN practice hours; neither version has continuing education hours, so nothing changes in the engine. National certification is a condition of the APRN license, not a substitute for hours; the certification's own 75 hours are us-pmhnp bc.yaml.
  • Transition to practice: "An APRN with fewer than 24 months and 2,400 hours of licensed active advanced nursing practice in an initial role and population focus or fewer than 12 months and 1,600 hours for any additional role and population focus shall have a formal agreement with a collaborating provider as required by 26 VSA § 1613" (Rule 9-8), and on completion "shall retain a copy of the Board form attesting to completion of the transition to practice" (Rule 9-8(a)). This is a renewal document, not continuing education, so it is not modeled.
  • Controlled-substances CE trigger: Act 173 Sec. 9 binds an APRN with a DEA registration, one with "a pending application for a DEA number", or one who "dispense[s] controlled substances". The engine models the DEA row only; an APRN with a pending DEA application should enter the DEA row (or log the two hours) for the renewal it falls in. Vermont also requires every prescriber of Schedule II, III or IV controlled substances to register with and query the Vermont Prescription Monitoring System (18 V.S.A. § 4289(b)-(c)) and to follow the Department of Health's Rule Governing the Prescribing of Opioids for Pain (effective April 1, 2024), which sets patient-education, consent and VPMS-query duties but no continuing education. Neither is modeled.
  • No other statewide mandate: the Board of Nursing rules and 26 V.S.A. chapter 28 set no implicit bias, suicide prevention, human trafficking, domestic violence or infection control hours for RNs or APRNs. The Medication Nursing Assistant's four hours on medication administration (Rule 4-8(c)) belong to a different license.
  • First renewal: "An applicant issued an initial license within 90 days of the end of a licensing period will not be required to renew or pay the renewal fee. The license will be issued through the next full licensure period" (Rule 4-4). That moves the first expiration for late-period licensees; it does not waive any renewal requirement, and Act 173 Sec. 9 applies "for each licensing period", so no first-cycle override is modeled.
  • Compacts: Vermont has been a Nurse Licensure Compact state since February 1, 2022 (OPR's NLC page: "As of February 1, 2022, Vermont is part of the NLC!"), so a Vermont-resident RN may hold a multistate license renewed on this cycle, and "APRNs are required to hold either a Vermont RN license OR hold a compact (multistate) RN license in a compact state" (OPR Apply and Renew page), in which case the APRN row exists without a Vermont RN row. Vermont has not enacted the APRN Compact, which is in effect nowhere, so the APRN license is single-state.

Vermont PMHNP CE: frequently asked questions

Which credentials does a Vermont PMHNP renew?

4 separate credentials, each on its own renewal date: the APRN (Vermont, biennial), the RN (Vermont, biennial), the PMHNP-BC (ANCC, every 5 years), and the DEA (DEA, triennial). Vermont issues no separate CSR. A lapse at any one of them stops prescribing.

How often do Vermont PMHNP licensees renew?

The renewal cycle is biennial, and the license renews by March 31 of odd years.

How much does Vermont PMHNP license renewal cost?

The board's renewal fee is $145 every 2 years, per the Vermont board fee schedule. CE course costs are separate and set by course providers.

Are there subject-specific CE requirements for Vermont PMHNP licensees?

Yes. Vermont requires 2 hours of controlled substances (abuse and diversion, safe use and disposal, VPMS, risk assessment, opioid alternatives, tapering, state and federal law).

Sources and verification

State source
Vermont board rule
Fee schedule
Vermont board fee schedule
Last verified
October 2026
Ruleset version
2026.2

We reviewed this page against the Vermont board source, and we refresh it from the compiled ruleset above. Methodology and disclaimer. Compliance data is for guidance only, not legal or board advice. Always confirm requirements with your licensing board before renewing. See something wrong? Report it

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Vermont guides & data

What to keep for a CE audit →Learn what boards ask for in a CE audit, how long each state says to keep certificates, and what the notice looks like, then use the printable checklist.Vermont mental health workforce data →4,623 active providers, or 717.1 per 100,000 residents, ranked 5 of 51. The page includes a county density map and free CSV downloads.

Other Vermont CE requirement pages

Vermont LPCVermont LMFTVermont LCSWVermont PsychologistVermont Addiction Counselor

PMHNP CE requirements in other states